The product arrives in a keyboard sized box which displays a nice clear image of the contents on the front with key feature information too. The other sides give more detailed info and then inside we find product documentation and a set of stickers.

Gamdias Combo Review – The Ares Essential Keyboard

The Ares Essential keyboard is the first part of our bundle and uses a black, matt plastic chassis measuring 477x185x29.5mm. Two legs can be seen on the bottom surface which vary the angle of the board and as well as cable routing grooves we also have four holes on the base. These are part of the spill resistant design which allows any liquid spilled on the keys to exit the base of the board. Also adding to the robustness of the product is an extra board layer which gives this a 4 layer structure compared to the traditional 3-layer design found on other membrane/LED models.

Looking around the board we have a set of second functions on the F keys which provide media functionality, and even an extra set of F keys in an easy to reach area beneath the space bar. Worth noting is that the keys all have a slightly rubberized soft touch coating and each is backlit, with the logo at the base also featuring lighting. The left side of the board also has a consecutive attack key which essentially enables continuous fire when we hold a key and Gamdias include game mode lock to ensure accidental presses do not drop us out of the game… as well as full key lock too. The Ares Essential also supports 19-key rollover and has the ability to swap the WASD and arrow keys mapping to better suit left handed players (actioned via one of the extra keys on the left).

Finally for the Ares Essential, the keyboard uses a 2m cable and like the Ourea mouse which we will look at next it uses a gold plated USB connector.

Gamdias Combo Review – The Ourea Mouse

The Ourea is shown above and like the Ares Essential keyboard it uses a matt black body (129x66x40mm) although in this case the top surface is soft touch/ruberized. This is an ambidexterous mouse and looking at the front view we can seee the cable, which ends in gold plated connector, exits from the centre. A rubber covered scroll wheel with LED lighting is centred and behind it a DPI selector button and the palm logo is also LED illuminated.

With this being a mouse suited to left or right handed use we have a thumb button on either side.

Turning the Ourea over we finf that there are two low friction feet which run around the outside edge of the mouse. In the centre is our 2500DPI sensor and then the circular section at the back twists to open and reveals four 5g weights which can be removed to vary the feel of the mouse. What else does the Ourea offer? 1000Hz polling, 10million click buttons and 64k of onboard storage for 6 profiles with macros.

Gamdias Combo Review – Software

Gamdias use a control panel called Hera for their peripherals and the good news is that it supports multiple devices. When we first launch our peripherals are detected and the relevant files downloaded, then we can enter the configuration. In the case of the Ourea mouse we can configure all of the key aspects such as DPI, set profiles and macros and view stats on how we have used the mouse.

Moving over to the keyboard tab we find some similar functionality, macros, profiles etc and then we have some additional functionality such as the ability to assign sounds, set timers and create custom sound files. We can also enter the settings for the app and check for updates on our software as well as configure its appearance. The latest version can be downloaded from Gamdias.

Gamdias Combo Review – User Experience and Conclusion

Starting with the build quality of the product we look at the keyboard first… and the initial comment has to be that anyone looking for a mechanical board will need to look elsewhere. This is a membrane model, not that this is a bad thing, its just personal preference (and somewhat budget) which decides what you need. In the world of membrane boards though, this is a solid entry. The chassis feels solid, there is a reasonable weight to the board which keeps it stable on the desk and the use of decent LED lighting with soft touch keys adds some quality to the look and feel. Moving to the mouse we have an ambidextrous model, which will always please a set of consumers, and the overall shape, as well as the soft touch coating is pleasing. Our only real note of an aspect that could be changed is on the bottom surface, there are two holes for some reason. Those will likely collect dust over time and it would have been good if Gamdias covered them.

The software used by Gamdias offers all of the functionality we would need and we like that it controls all devices however it does need a bit of work on appearance we feel. Cluttered would be the opinion we get from some of the screens and some items can get lost in various screens too. It also seems strange that automatic functionality is only part implemented. For example when we first launch, we get prompted to download the appropriate files for our devices, perfect. Then it tells us that there is a new version of the software… go manually find the button to update. That is just odd.

Overall though, after our first configuration the control panel gets minimal use and it is the overall feel of the devices which matters most. On that front we were happy. The keyboard has a nice feel for its type and is responsive. The extra keys and functionality work well and there shouldn’t be anything that the average gamer misses on this model. The mouse too performs well and while it doesn’t have the highest DPI in the world it tracks well, offers reasonable speed and is accurate. The ability to change weight also means we can tailor the mouse to our needs.

2 Comments

Er, “In the centre is our 2500DPI sensor and then the circular section at the back twists to open and reveals four 4g weights which can be removed to vary the feel of the mouse.” The picture looks suspiciously like 5g weights ☺

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